Monday, February 18, 2008

My brother Steve and his girlfriend Cara invited us to come visit him in Orlando for the weekend and since he graciously extended the invitation to Kiddo as well, we packed up and headed over. I added this weekend to my collection of moments that feel very "grown up." Even at 30, it seems weird that we live in houses with no adults in them, have free access to alcohol and no curfew.

Here are some highlights from the weekend:

Saturday: I had to do a 7 mile training run (next week is the half-marathon!). Cara suggested I run the neighborhood around where she works in Winter Park. The houses were amazing. Several of them could have been schools, hotels or mini malls. Not long into the run, I noticed a cute beagle plodding up the cobble stone street ahead of me. How cute, I thought, I’ll give him a little smile as I pass. But when I entered the puppy's personal space---he turned into a snarling, snapping, rabid werewolf.

Beagle Puppy---BEFORE personal space invasion

Bealgle Puppy---AFTER personal space invasion

I screamed louder than I have ever screamed in my life. The puppy ran away and NO ONE came out to check on me. I figured this was either because a) The people in the fancy houses don’t care about whatever vagabond is running down their street, or b) they are themselves hiding from the rabid beagle and don’t want to open their doors lest he gain entrance to their home.

Later, we went to IKEA: Where Danny bought a desk, I fantasized about being a single Swedish girl trying to make it on her own in Stockholm, and Steve got a nail in his tire.

We wondered what incident prompted the need for this sign over the IKEA display commode.

Then we hung out at Steve and Cara’s local watering hole/bar/second bedroom, affectionately called “Hoops.” We played trivia games, did shots, I made one of their friends promise to call me the next time she’s at a party with Joey Fatone and/or the New Kids on the Block, nearly swooned when she told me she HUGGED Donnie Wahlberg, and was not really that surprised to learn that Jordan Knight is a real douchebag.

Winning photo caption contest entry for this photo:

“Everyone’s a Winner at Hoops”

Runner up entry: “Not Really”

The next morning I felt hung over even though I never felt drunk which is just wrong and unfair. Before coming back home to Gainesville we went to brunch at "Hoops" where Cara designed modern art from our left-overs while Steve scolded us for wasting food.

This is what Steve looks like when he’s telling us not to play with our food and stop wasting ketchup.

It's pretty amazing that despite all the trouble we got in as kids (a good share between the two of us). We both turned out to be (fairly) normal/decent adults with pets and guest bedrooms and tax returns.